September 27, 2011

Maybe you splurged on a digital SLR camera, imagining yourself taking dreamy photos like a pro. Except that you haven't quite gotten around to learning how, so your camera is permanently stuck on the auto setting. You know you can do better... but how? If that's you, Katie Evans' new e-book, The Key to Taking Pictures Like a Professional Photographer, will help you show that camera who's boss.

Katie writes in a conversational style that's friendly and accessible, and won't make you throw yourself off a bridge when you read about f-stops and shutter speeds. Topics include types of lenses, exposure, settings, lighting, how to get subjects to relax and act like normal people, composing pictures, and fixing up your photos using software. Some of my favorite tips are:• How to get your subject's eyes to look sparkly instead of dull• How to make a DIY clip for your camera's flash to minimize the harsh edges you usually get• How to make a so-so photo great with a few editing tricks

Win a free copyKatie is giving away five free e-books, each a $35 value. Want one? Leave a comment here with your email address or other way of contacting you. And mention something interesting you'd like to photograph. (I'm betting 70% of the answers will be kids, but we'll see.) Five winners will be selected, contacted, and announced in this post. Giveaway closes at midnight CT on Friday, Sept. 30th.

Get a discountInterested in purchasing a book? Enter the code ORANGE at checkout and get $5 off the e-book, now through Oct. 7th.

Update: The giveaway is now closed. Congrats to lucky random winners Robyn, Britt, Jolkipalki, Rachel, and Jessica! They've been contacted and will be soon be taking better pictures.

I would love this book. I have been playing with the settings on my camera and still can't figure out how to get there. I would for my kids. I want to take lots of pictures of their family. I never had any pictures of my childhood and only have 1 really bad Polaroid pic of my grandfather, so I would take lots of pics of our family.

This is exactly what I need! I just got a DSLR for my birthday and have vowed to use it to its full potential. Hmmm....of course I want to photograph my six month old daughter, but I'd really like to get back into more artsy stuff like I did in college...like self-portraits and places from my past.

You're right, I'm planning to get a DSLR to photograph my first baby, due in February, but I also plan to photograph our house, fun new recipes we try at home, our garden, and family gatherings, so basically I just want all my photo-taking to improve!email: peacelovemath (at) gmail (dot) com

I would love to photograph my kids, of course - somehow they got all the best genes and they're stunning. However, I particularly love rocks/mountains, etc. because of my work and I think that would be a lot of fun to do better.:)rae_sunshine4(at)yahoo.com

Oh please pick me! I have had my SLR for 2 years now and I still can't grasp how to take amazing photos. The most important thing I'd photograph are my events, especially in odd candlelight/yellowish lighting. Thanks!

I need to learn how to take better photographs or just forget this whole blogging thing. I photographed some pillows I made three different times on three different days and still none of them looked great. For now, I'm blaming it on the camera. Thanks for the great giveaway Jess - this gives me a little bit of hope!Regards,CT

I would love to win this book! Right now I mostly take pictures of my yarn/knitting projects... and the trees near my apartment. That's it. I don't feel confident enough in my photos to really take my camera out frequently.

This looks fantastic!! I have a DSLR and am learning, very slowly how to use it. But am still baffled by so many things! We just adopted a retired greyhound, so of course, I'd love to take tons of pictures of her!

I do a lot of crafty stuff, and I'd love to get good photos of my embroidery, sewn clothing, and books I've bound for my blog. Also, I have the two cutest dogs on the face of the earth, and they deserve to have photos that do them justice. :)

i really want to improve my photography skills, so this would be perfect! i like taking pictures of all sorts of things, but i'd really like to learn how to capture red shades without them looking overblown..

I would LOVE to win the E-book! Just bought a Canon 600D and haven't really figured out how to tweak the features yet, so still stuck on program mode :( With this I could learn how to take better-looking or more artistic pictures, and this will come in handy when I go for holidays! Would love to snap gorgeous pictures of scenery, esp during holidays! yanyao91 [at] yahoo [dot] com

awesome! a giveaway! i would love to win this photobook for my dad! the past few years he's really gotten into photography~ and he really still needs a lot of help. haha. i think taking pictures of food and natural (vs. posed) people would be good for him to learn!

My DSLR was a gift from my boyfriend, and you are right, it is mostly on auto setting. It is a shame, and I would love to learn more, so I can properly use it.(As we don't have kids, I only use it when we travel.)

Oh, I'd love to win a copy! No children to photograph, unless I go borrow some, but I'd love to photograph food and spaces/items I like. And flowers. I love flowers. irt (dot) tjadrian (at) gmail(dot)com.

It's like you're reading my thoughts. It's not only figuring out how to fiddle the settings to get a specific look, but then remembering enough to be able to reproduce it! I do a lot of crochet, and i'd like to be able to take nice looking photos of it to share with everyone on my blog.

I'd love this book. I'm always wanting to be able to take pictures with manual mode. There are many pictures of my son alone and him and my husband, but not so many of me. I should probably start taking self pictures LOL.

I would love to win this for my daughter. She's 13 and a budding photographer who just one 3 ribbons at the state fair with her pictures. She's always looking for ways to improve her photos of children but she loves to take landscapes, too.

I definitely NEED this book! I would like to know how to photograph my dresses better, as I know that my current photos just don't do them justice (except for the professionally shot ones on my website).

I love taking pictures of trees and leaves and flowers. Anything in nature really. Of course my kids too but since they are older they cooperate less and less. Thanks for a chance to win.tanyapoohbear@gmailcom

I always take pictures of my girls, but I'd love to take better scenic photos, landscapes. I'd love to be able to show water movement in a slow, dreamy way, and take better close ups of flowers, food, nature and animals.

What a great looking book - I actually just bought my first DSLR camera yesterday (!) and was talking to my son about needing a great how-to book to help me learn and understand what I'm doing. Hoping to take great pictures of people, knitting and scenery.

I'm entering this contest to give this book to my friend, because she has an SLR camera that she just got and is excited about. I don't have kids, but I'd love to be a better photographer for my blog, which primarily has pictures of the remodel we're doing on our home. It's going to be extra tough, now that the days are getting shorter and I don't have enough daylight to get natural light shots on weeknights!

You're right, I photograph my kiddos all the time. That's NOT why I want this book! I live in one of the most beautiful places - Vermont. I would love to take some nice photos of the fall foliage without them looking like a bad 70's hotel room.

I photograph everything else except my kids...because they won't let me...so I tell them I'm taking pictures of something behind them so I can sneak a pic of them...and of course I could get that better quick pic of them if I already knew what settings I should have my camera on! Please share your camera knowledge with me:)

although i am a graphic designer i use my lovely sony cybershot in the auto-mode. i come from the era of olympus om2 and self-developped photographs as i graduated in 1984. so i desperately need some instructions as i would love to take better pics of - no, not my boys - of the lovely landscapes in ireland where i live.

My birthday is in November and as a combined present with Christmas I'm getting a DSLR (finally!)!! While I don't have kids yet, I want to use the DSLR to capture my fur-babies and all of life. There will be travel and new opportunities this coming year and I'm so excited to document life!!

I'm totally on board. I got an slr this summer courtesy of my hubby. We are getting a few chickens soon and I would really like to capture them (along with my girls!) playing around in our yard. I've tried taking dreamy pictures of my husband but they never turn out as dreamy as I remember.....hmmm ;)

This would be great. I'm still at the level of giving everyone the red devil eyes most of the time, so tips will be appreciated. I'm not sure who I'll photograph, but I'll be sure to save the pics for blackmail later on!